We are now down to the Final Four teams in the 2015/16 NBA season and the action is really heating up. We have the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Finals taking place over the next two weeks, which will see us well on the way to the NBA Finals which will be taking place in March. This is the most exciting time of the year for NBA fans and the NBA schedule is packed full of quality, as opposed to quantity, at this point in time.
Conference Semi-Final Results
Eastern Conference
- Cleveland Cavaliers 4 – Atlanta Hawks 0
- Toronto Raptors 4 – Miami Heat 3
Western Conference
- Golden State Warriors 4 – Portland Trail Blazers 1
- Oklahoma City Thunder 4 – San Antonio Spurs 2
This means the Eastern Conference Final will feature Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors while the Western Conference will feature Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Tuesday 17th May 02:00 BST Tip-off time / 03:00 CEST
- Oklahoma City Thunder @ Golden State Warriors – Game 1
The bookmakers believe that the Golden State Warriors will get their Conference Final series off to a great start and who can blame them. This is a team that broke records and won hearts all season and many people will be shocked if their season doesn’t ultimately end in triumph at the end of the NBA Finals. That is getting carried away with ourselves at the moment though but this should be a game where the home side manages to clean up in a convincing manner.
With this in mind, you should be looking to take the Golden State Warriors at -7.5, which you can find at odds of 1.90. Anyone that is looking for the Over/Under market will find that going OVER 223.5 at odds of 1.90 should be of benefit as this is a game where both teams are likely to come out of the blocks in an emphatic mood.
Wednesday 18th May 01:30 BST Tip-off time / 02:30 CEST
- Toronto Raptors @ Cleveland Cavaliers – Game 1
If you thought that the bookies were favouring the Warriors in their quest to be the best team in the Western Conference it seems as though the bookies are even bigger backers of the Cavs cleaning up in the East. Again, you can see why and if there is one thing you know about present day NBA action, it is the fact that the NBA Finals only take place when LeBron James is there.
With this in mind, the Cavs are likely to make an exciting start to this series and you can take the Cavs at -10.5 which is on offer at odds of 1.90. If you are looking for the Over/Under market, have a look at going OVER 203.0 which you can find at odds of 1.90.
Thursday 19th May 02:00 BST Tip-off time / 03:00 CEST
- Oklahoma City Thunder @ Golden State Warriors – Game 2
From this point on, attempting to preview or second guess the games for the series becomes more difficult. Any injuries or psychological impact of the score of previous games (or in this case, game) could make a big difference to how a game plays out.
In the long run, you’d expect the Warriors to pass through to the Finals and as their second home game; you’d have to consider them to be favourites for this game.
Friday 20th May 01:30 BST Tip-off time / 02:30 CEST
- Toronto Raptors @ Cleveland Cavaliers – Game 2
It is the exact same scenario in the East and you should see the Cavs working hard to take a healthy lead to Toronto with them.
Sunday 22nd May 01:30 BST Tip-off time / 02:30 CEST
- Cleveland Cavaliers @ Toronto Raptors – Game 3
Monday 23rd May 01:00 BST Tip-off time / 02:00 CEST
- Golden State Warriors @ Oklahoma City Thunder – Game 3
Tuesday 24th May 01:30 BST Tip-off time / 02:30 CEST
- Cleveland Cavaliers @ Toronto Raptors – Game 4
Wednesday 25th May 02:00 BST Tip-off time / 03:00 CEST
- Golden State Warriors @ Oklahoma City Thunder – Game 4
Depending on the outcome of the games to this point, this could actually be the end point of the NBA Conference Finals. While there are favourites in the Finals, no one is really expecting there to be two 4-0 whitewashes, but if there is, this will be the cut-off point.
However, if both sides managed to grab a win in the opening four games, we will continue until one side has managed to reach 4 wins in the series. Therefore, all of the remaining games in the NBA schedule are to be confirmed so please check to see if they will be required.
Thursday 26th May 01:30 BST Tip-off time / 02:30 CEST
- Toronto Raptors @ Cleveland Cavaliers – * Game 5 if required
Friday 27th May 02:00 BST Tip-off time / 03:00 CEST
- Oklahoma City Thunder @ Golden State Warriors – * Game 5 if required
Saturday 28th May 01:30 BST Tip-off time / 02:30 CEST
- Cleveland Cavaliers @ Toronto Raptors – * Game 6 if required
Sunday 29th May 02:00 BST Tip-off time / 03:00 CEST
- Golden State Warriors @ Oklahoma City Thunder – * Game 6 if required
Monday 30th May 01:30 BST Tip-off time / 02:30 CEST
- Toronto Raptors @ Cleveland Cavaliers – * Game 7 if required
Tuesday 31st May 02:00 BST Tip-off time / 03:00 CEST
- Oklahoma City Thunder @ Golden State Warriors – * Game 7 if required
At this point in time, it can be said that come the 31st of May, we will know the two teams heading to the NBA Final. This means that all of the focus on the June Grand Finale will go into overdrive at this point at the very latest.
At 3-1 down in the NBA Finals, many people predicted that the Cleveland Cavaliers would lie down, perhaps looking for the pain to be over and done with for another year. After all, they were facing the record breakers, the team that had shown themselves to be the best of the best by a good...